Powerplay, by Terry Nation, follows on directly from Aftermath at the beginning of season 3.
It starts with the Liberator in space, where Tarrant has captured Avon and Dayna. He has mannys with him, they are a Federation Death Squad - it looks like Tarrant is a baddy!
The baddys are led by Section Leader Clegg.
Oops, that was the wrong picture before - TEH SATIRES!111
Tarrant can't control the Liberator without one of the proper crew. Avon pretends not to be Avon so the baddys don't know who he is. Clegg is only suspicious but Tarrant guesses he is Avon when he doesn't want Zen to recognise him. They knock out Avon and Dayna but they are not given away.
Zen gets a message from Vila. Vila is on a planet where he meets a baldy manny in a skirt who helps him. Later Vila gets captured by two women who act friendly, but the baldy manny knows they're baddys really even though Vila doesn't.
Avon and Dayna are prisoners until they escape and find out that their guard has already been killed by someone else. Tarrant and Clegg go looking for them and they hide. Tarrant almost finds them.
Tarrant is very handsome in this episode, even dressed like a baddy.
Cally is in another spaceship. She meets Servalan. This scene gets in the way, I just want them to go back to Avon and Tarrant because their bit is exciting.
Another baddy gets killed while looking for Avon and Dayna, but not by them. Avon sets off an escape pod to fool the baddys, which is what a baddy did to try and fool him in Mission to Destiny.
Avon is very handsome too, look at his eyes. Purr.
Avon goes up to the bridge and speaks to Zen, but Dayna gets captured by Clegg again. Avon goes looking for her but he gets captured as well, by Tarrant and another baddy.
Tarrant reveals to Avon that he has recognised him, then he shoots the other baddy and says he killed the baddys earlier - he is on Avon's side! Avon is surprised by this, as he didn't know Tarrant was really a goody until now.
Cally meets Vila on the planet, where they are both in a hospital. Cally calls the Liberator to come and get them. Servalan tells them it is an evil hospital that will kill them and steal their organs, but she is going back to Earth to be President of the Federation.
Tarrant is given away when he is overheard by another baddy, who runs off to tell Clegg. Clegg threatens to kill Dayna unless Avon and Tarrant give up. Avon pretends to make a deal with Clegg to trick Tarrant so he gets captured. But they overpower the baddys and Dayna kills Clegg.
Vila and Cally get teleported up before the evil hospital can kill them. Avon lets Tarrant and Dayna join the crew and command the Liberator.
Dayna and Tarrant are Avon's new friends.
I love this episode! In fact it is my favourite of all Blakes 7.
The reason is that although there are many fantastic episodes of Blakes 7, this is Tarrant's best one. Avon has lots of amazing episodes, from Mission to Destiny in season 1 all the way through to Blake at the end, but Tarrant doesn't get as many.
This is not just his first proper episode, it is the one in which he is best. Tarrant is so clever in this story, he outwits Clegg and the other baddys, and he even fools Avon. He secretly helps Avon until he can show him he is a friend, and then he is best friends with Avon almost straight away.
The only bad bits to this episode are the scenes with Vila and Cally. They are important to the story as they show the two of them need to be rescued in the nick of time at the end, but they take too much time away from the thrilling scenes with Avon and Tarrant in them.
Avon and Tarrant are now the main characters in Blakes 7 (with Vila, Cally, Dayna, Orac and Zen helping them) and it is from this wonderful episode by Terry Nation that my best bits of Blakes 7 really begin. I am a happy cat!
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